Reel for rope and similar material



Dec. 2, 1941. c. M. MC ARTHY REEL FOR norm AND SIMILAR'MATERIYAL3-$heets-Sheet 1 Original Filed May 31, 1958 Dec. 1941! c. M. M CARTHY IREEL FOR ROPE AND SIMILAR MATERIAL Original Filed May 31, 1958 1941- ic. M. M CARTHY 2,264,992 REEL FOR ROPE AND SIMILAR MATERIAL OriginalFiled May 31, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 g Mm Patented Dec. 2, 1941 REEL FORROPE AND SHHILAR MATERIAL Charles M. McCarthy, Minneapolis, Minn.

Original application May 31, 1938, Serial No. 210,907. Divided and thisapplication November 14, 1940, Serial No. 365,660

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a rope winding machine and particularly to anovel rope winding reel. While the novel reel could be used for windingvarious materials in various applications, it is illustrated as appliedto a machine for dispensing a plurality of kinds of rope.

When a coil of rope is wound upon a, member or reel it engages theportion at the center or the core with considerable friction. It isdifiicult to remove the wound coil from the member at the centerthereof. In some cases it has been necessary to apply great force to thecoil to remove it.

It is an object of this invention to provide a simple and efiicientstructure of reel for winding rope or similar material from which thewound coil can be easily and quickly removed.

It is another object of the invention to provide a reel for winding ropeor similar material comprising a central portion or core on which a coil5 of rope may be wound, an end portion for holding said coil on .saidcentral portion, said end portion comprising members which are movableoutwardly into alinement with said central portion so that the coil canbe removed thereover.

It is another object of the invention to provide such a reel as setforth in the preceding paragraph in which the members forming thecentral portion and the members forming the end frame are moved intosubstantially alined positions in lines converging from the rear side ofthe reel,

thus relieving any grip of the coil thereon so that the coil may be freeand easily removed.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a reel for windingrope or similar material comprising a rear end frame, a central portionon which a coil of rope is wound comprising circumferentially spacedmembers pivotally secured to said rear end frame and a front end framecomprising circumferentially spaced members pivotally connectedrespectively to said last mentioned members, all of said members beingswingable into position to form a frame tapering toward the front ofsaid reel.

It ismore' specifically an object of the invention "to providea'reelcomprising a central shaft, a rear end frame comprisingclrcumferentially spaced-members secured to said shaft, a centralportion-on which a coil of rope may be wound comprisingcircumferentially spaced members pivotally secured to .saidfirstmentioned members,.afro ntend frame comprising circumferentially spacedmembers pivotally secured to said last mentioned members respectivelyand nor mally disposed in a substantially vertical plane, means slidableon said shaft to which the last mentioned members are also pivotallyconnected and resilient means on said shaft for moving said firstmentioned means to hold said last mentioned members in a substantiallyvertical plane, said'last mentioned members being swingable outwardlyfrom their outer ends against pressure of said spring to facilitateremoval of said coil.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be fullyset forth in th following description made in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer tosimilar parts throughout the several views and in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of said reel and a portion of the machine to whichit is attached;

Fig. 2 is a View in side elevation, the reel being shown in a differentposition in dotted lines;

Fig. 3 is a View in front elevation showing the reel in dischargingposition, some parts being shown in dotted lines;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. l as indicated bythe arrow;

Fig. 5 is a partial view in side elevation showing a modification, someparts being shown in different positions in dotted lines;

Fig. 6 is a partial View in front elevation of the structure shown inFig. 5; and

Fig. '7 is a vertical section taken on line 1-1 of Fig. 6.

Referring to the drawings a machine is shown having a frame comprisinglongitudinally extending parallel base members 10. While these membersmight be variously made, in the embodiment of the invention illustratedthey are shown as made from angle bars having their horizontal flangesextending inward each other. Bars H are secured to the rear ends ofmembers H3 at their outer sides and extend vertically therefrom, thesame being joined by an integral portion Ila extending horizontally atsome distance above members It), the bars II and Ila thus forming onemember. A similar member I2 is disposed some distance in front of memberIll also having a horizontal portion |2a and vertical portions securedat their lower ends to the member l0. Members [3 are secured to thevertical portions of members II and I2 at the inner sides thereof by thescrews hi and extend some distance forwardly of member l2.

l3 might be variously made, they are also shown as formed of angle barshaving their horizontal flanges at the top and extending towards eachother. A bar l5 extends between the forward ends of members I3, the samebeing shown as an angle bar having its horizontal flange secured to.

the topof members I 3 by the screws l6 and having its vertical flangeextending downwardly over the ends of members I3. A bar I! extendstransversely above and between the bars [3, being supported on spacingblocks or thimbles l8 and secured by headed and nutted bolts l9, saidthimbles resting on bars 13. Bar I! is illustrated as in the form of anangle bar, the horizontal flange of which rests on thimbles l8 and thvertical flange of which projects upwardly forwardly of While memberssaid thimbles. Bar I1 is provided with a series of spaced V-shapednotches in which are disposed respectively rope guide members 20.Members are formed of angle bars having their angles directed upwardlywith the bisector of each angle extending vertically. Members 20 aresecured by welding or otherwise in bars I! and the same are curved at aright angle thus having a forwardly projecting horizontal portion and adownwardly directed rear portion. Pawl members 2l are secured to theunderside of portion 1 la by headed and nutted bolts 22 and extenddownwardly into the angles of members 20 respectively at the curvedportion thereof. A horizontal brace member 23 extends betwen thevertical portions of members H and I2 at each side of the frame and adiagonal brace member 24 extends between said vertical portions at eachside of the frame. A bar 26 is secured to the vertical portions ofmembers H and I2 at one side thereof and as shown in Fig. 1 is bentoutwardly and has a forwardly extending terminal portion 26a. A bar 2'!is secured to the vertical portions of members If and I2 at the sideopposite bar 26, the same extending forwardly and being apertured toreceive 1 one end of a cylindrical rod 28 which also extends through anaperture in portion 26a. A reelcarrying frame is provided, the samebeing formed by a U-shaped bar 36 having one end apertured to receiveand be slidable on bar 28.

The other side 3011 of member 30 is bent at a right angle to extendsubstantially parallel to rod 23 and has a terminal portion again bentat a right angle and apertured to receive rod 28 on which it isslidable. member 30 are connected by a bar 3| connected to portion 36aby the rivets 32 and being bent at a right angle and connected to theother side of member 35 by the rivet 33. The base members ID areextended forwardly and the vertical flanges thereof are cut away and anangle member 35 is secured to members It by the rivets 35a, member 35extending between members [5 and some distance beyond member It) at theright as shown in Fig. 1. connected by rivets 37 to the outer side ofmember 35 and extending downwardly in a diagonal direction, being bentto extend vertically at its The side portions of A bar 36 is providedpivotally a;

lower portion and pivotally connected at said a lower portion by a rivet38 to the end of a bar 39, which bar 39 is pivotally connected at itsother end by rivet to member 36a. A pin 4| is secured in member 39 andadapted to engage the upper side of member 36a. Member 30 has short barsor blocks 43 connected to the inner sides thereof adjacent its bightportion by the rivets 44. A shaft 45 is journaled in member 3!] andblocks 45, the same having an outer threaded end for receiving a crankarm 46 to which a handie 41 is secured by the headed and nutted bolt 48passing therethrough. A washer 49 engages the outer side of member 30,being secured by a nut 55 and a nut 51 is placed on the outer end ofshaft 45 to hold crank arm 46 in place.

of member 30. A rear end frame 54 forming part of the reel proper isprovided which comprises radially extending fiat bars 54a and spaced 90degrees apart. Bars 54a have secured thereto by rivets 542) short bars540, said bars 54a and 540 A pair of washers 52 are disposed at theinner side and are pivotally connected thereto by rivets 56 somedistance from shaft 45. Bars 55 form the central portion or core of thereel on which the coil of rope or similar material will be wound. Bars55 are pivotally connected by rivets 5'! at their forward ends toradially extending flat bars 53 which normally extend substantially atright angles to bars 55 and thus substantially parallel to bars 54a.Bars 58 extend inwardly of bars 55 and are pivotally connected at theirinner ends by rivets 59 to a frame member 68. Frame member 60 as shownin Fig. 4 comprises four short bars 60a being of right angle formationand arranged about shaft 45 with their arms projecting outwardlytherefrom, said bars being connected by the rivets 59 and 6612. Frame 66is constructed and arranged to slide longitudinally on shaft 45. Asleeve 6| is disposed on shaft 45 engaging the inner end of frame 60 anda compression coiled spring 62 also surrounds shaft 45 engaging sleeve Mat one end and rear frame 54 at its other end. A pin or cotter 63extends through the outer end of shaft 45 to retain frame in properposition.

In the operation of the particular embodiment of the inventionillustrated coils of rope 10 indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1 aredisposed beneath the machine and the rope from each coil is broughtupward and extends around and within the guide members 20. The ropepasses under the end of the spring pawls 2i and it will be seen thatsaid pawls will prevent any backward movement of the strand of rope.When a particular rope is to be wound on the reel it is brought forwardand the end wrapped around the central portion formed by bars andsecured in any suitable manner. The reel at this time is in the positionshown in Figs. 1 and 2. The members 36 and 39 extend downwardly and areplaced in the angle of member 35. Pin 4| engages the top of member 36and the reel is thus firmly supported in the position shown, the Weightthereof holding members 36 and 39 firmly in the angle of member 35. Itwill be seen that the frame 35 swings about rod 26. It may also bementioned that the reel is slidable longitudinally of rod 28 ortransversely of the machine, frame 35 as stated sliding on rod 28. Thereel can thus be brought into position to receive a rope from any one ofthe guides 25. The operator now rotates shaft 45 and the reel by turningthe crank formed by members 46 and 41. When the rope has been wound onthe central portion of the reel as desired the coil of rope is held bythe rear end frame 54 and the front end frame formed by bars 58. Whenthe desired amount of rope is wound on the reel the rope will be severedand the loose end secured in the coil in any suitable manner. To removethe coil of rope from the reel the operator takes hold of the bars 53and swings the outer ends thereof outwardly. The bars swing about pivots51, the inner ends thereof acting on frame and moving said frame andsleeve 6| inwardly against the pressure of spring 62. The bars 58 areswung down to the position shown in Fig. 3. It will be seen that in thisposition said bars are substantially alined with bars 55 which have alsomoved about their pivots 56 so that bars 55 and 58 extend in convergingrelation from rear frame 54. Bars 58 are moved slightly beyond deadcenter position and will thus retain their position as they form sort ofa toggle with bars 55. It will be seen that when bars 55 are thus movedthey move away from the inside of coil 10a which has been wound on threel and all pressure on the coil is relieved. The coil can now beeasily removed from the reel by merely sliding the same over the bars58. When the operator wishes to restore the reel to normal position hemerely moves the outer ends of bars 58 away from each other a shortdistance and spring 62 then moves sleeve BI and fram 50 to bring bars 58to their normal position. Heretofore it has often been a very difficulttask to remove a coil of rope from a reel. The coil grips the core partor central part of the reel very firmly and extreme force is oftennecessary to remove the coil. With the present structure all friction orgrip of the coil on the reel is relieved and the coil can be very easilyand quickly removed.

When the machine is not in use the reel can be swung to a position overthe frame as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. The frame 30 is movedto the right as shown in Fig. 1 so that bar 30a at its outer portion isbeyond the base member I 0. The frame 30 can then be swung upwardly andrearwardly about rod 28 and will take the position shown in dotted linesin Fig. 2.

In Figs. 5, 6 and 7 a modification is shown in which the handle for thereel is placed on the front end of shaft 45 or on the end opposite thatin which it is shown in Figs. 1 to 3. Shaft 45 is provided with a slot45a extending centrally therethrough and open at the front end of theshaft. A crank arm 65 is provided and while this might be variouslymade, in the embodiment of the invention illustrated it is shown asformed of a fiat bar having one end thereof disposed in slot 45a andpivotally connected to shaft 45 by the headed pivot rivet 66. Arm 65normally extends at right angles to shaft 45 as shown in Fig. andcarries a small lug 650. which engages one side of shaft 45. Arm 65 isshown as twisted through 90 degrees and the same has secured adjacentits outer end a handle member 61. A headed and nutted bolt 68 extendsthrough handle 61 and arm 65, securing handle 61 in place.

When the ropeis to be wound on the reel the operator will turn the reelby taking hold of handle 61 and rotating shaft 45. When the coil of ropeis to be taken from the reel members 58 will be swung as alreadydescribed and the crank arm 65 will be swung to the position shown indotted lines in Fig. 5. The said coil when taken from the reel can thusbe readily moved over the crank arm and handle. One advantage of havingthe crank on the front end of shaft 45 is that the operator does nothave to walk around the reel after winding the rope thereon. Theoperation is thus made more rapid.

From the above description it will be seen that I have provided quite asimple and very efiicient structure of reel on which rope or similarmaterial may be wound and from which a coil of the wound material may beeasily and quickly removed. The reel is rugged in construction and madefrom simple structural material. The reel has been amply demonstrated inactual practice, found to be very successful and efficient and has beencommercially marketed.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made inthe form, details, arrangment and proportions of the parts, withoutdeparting from the scope of applicants invention, which generallystated, consists in a device capable of carrying out the objects aboveset forth, in the parts and combinations of parts disclosed and definedin the appended claims.

This application is a division of applicants copending application forRope winding and measuring machine, filed May 31, 1938, Serial Number210,907, now Patent No. 2,238,067, for all parts common thereto.

What is claimed is:

1. A reel for winding rope or similar material having in combination, acentral shaft, a rigid rear frame extending about said shaft anddisposed in a substantially vertical plane, a central portion forreceiving a coil of rope comprising circumferentially spaced memberspivotally connected to said rear frame, a front end frame comprisingcircumferentially spaced bars respectively pivotally connectedintermediate their ends to said last mentioned members, means includinga member slidable longitudinally of said shaft for holding said bars inposition in a substantially vertical plane, said bars being pivotallyconnected at their inner ends to said member and swingable away fromsaid rear frame to move said member toward said rear frame for bringingsaid bars and said circumferentially spaced members into substantialalignment in converging lines extending away from said rear frame.

2. A reel for winding rope or similar material having in combination, acentral shaft, a rear end frame disposed in a substantially verticalplane, a central portion comprising circumferentially spaced membersextending substantially at right angles to said frame and a front endframe comprising circumferentially spaced bars normally disposed in asubstantially vertical plane and pivotally connected intermediate theirends respectively to the front ends of said spaced members, a memberslidable on said shaft to which the inner ends of said bars arepivotally connected and a spring surrounding said shaft and engagingsaid member and said rear end frame to urge said member away from saidrear frame to hold said bars in a vertical plane, said bars beingswingable to move their free ends away from said rear end frame and movesaid member toward said rear end frame against the tension of saidspring to discharge a coil of rope from said central portion.

3. A reel for winding rope or similar material having in combination, acentral shaft, a rear end frame secured to said shaft, a central portionabout said shaft on which a coil of rope may be wound comprisingcircumferentially spaced members pivotally connected at their ends tosaid rear end frame, a front end frame comprising circumferentiallyspaced bars pivotally connected intermediate their ends to the outerends of said members respectively, a member slidable on said shaft towhich the inner ends of said bars are pivotally connected and yieldingmeans on said shaft normally holding said last mentioned member inposition away from said rear end frame with said spaced bars insubstantially vertical position, said bars being swingable outwardlyaway from said rear end frame about their pivotal connection to saidmembers to move said last mentioned member toward said rear end frameand bring said members and bars into substantially aligned andconverging position extending away from said rear frame for discharginga coil of rope wound on said central portion.

CHARLES M. MCCARTHY.

